What does one learn in a criminal investigation class? A lot. We have covered forensic stuff like how to recognize basic fingerprint types – arch, loop and whorl. How to take fingerprints. We have also covered what type of evidence is most likely to contain DNA. (drinking glasses, underwear, bloody rags) We have learned that a single strand of hair can inform one of gender, race, age, true hair color, and general health. We have also learned that the definition of homicide is the killing of one human by another human and that murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or excuse. We know that murders are always homicides but homicides are not always murders.
The most important thing I have
learned, however, in terms of both writing and investigating: is that
chronology is king. That is to say, when trying to piece together an
investigation, one must do it in chronological order. Even though
this may seem self-evident, there is a big tendency (myself included)
to jump back and forth in time while stepping through the crime. My
advice is: don't do it. It's too confusing for the reader (and an
investigations process). I have found that if everything is put in
precise time order, the reader doesn't have to think so hard. They
can just enjoy the read.
For instance, this week my class was
given the assignment to review the Jon Benet Ramsey case and list the
things that were done wrong by the Boulder Colorado Police and then
list what the police should have done. The general facts of the
case are that on the morning of December 26, 1996, a six year old
girl was found missing by her mother who simultaneously discovered a
ransom note on the stairs. The mother called 911, the police came and
about seven hours later the child was found by her father. She was
discovered in the basement of her own house - murdered. The crime
was never solved and the parents were (and still are by many)
considered the prime suspects.
The first thing I did was make a time
line of events for the initial 24 hours. Once I did that, many
mistakes were obvious. Here is a the first few entries in my time
line. Can you see with this time line, even without professional
training, some of the things that were done wrong?
1. 2 AM neighbor hears scream.
2. 5:45 JBR found missing by mom
3. 5:48 mom finds
kidnapper's ransom note on stairs
4. 5:52 mom calls police - 911
5. 5:55 JBR parents call two sets of
family friends to come over to the house
6. 5:59 police arrive – Officer
French - 1st to arrive
7. 6 AM Officer French makes a quick
search of the house with dad, John Ramsey, then looks for entry/exit
points. He sees no sign of struggle. Did not search “wine cellar
room” in basement because it was “locked”.
8. 6:03 am - “friends” arrive
including Fleet White
9. 6:20 am Fleet White searches
basement. Mr White sees lights on in the basement and “wine cellar”
door open. Mr White sees broken window in the basement and a suitcase
along with a broken shard of glass under the window. (Note: later he
did not remember if the window was open or closed.) Mr White opens
the wine cellar door but doesn't see anything because he can't find
the light switch.
10. 6:25 Officer French seals off
JBR's bedroom only
11. 6:45 Three more BPD arrive
12. 7 am Burke (JBR's brother)
awakened
Based on only the above facts, did
mistakes jump out at you? Some of the things I saw was: the first
officer on the scene (who was the Boulder Police Chief) did not
secure the entire house as a crime scene, the parents and their
friends were allowed to remain in the house and roam freely, thus
contaminating evidence. The police officer, when searching the house
initially, did not open a locked door in the basement. This is where
the body was eventually found. There is no mention of experts like
the FBI being called in immediately. (They weren't called until three
hours later). The brother, who slept on the same floor of the house
as the sister was not awakened and questioned for an hour.
Obviously, There was a mountain of
mistakes in this case and many books have been written discussing
these mistakes. But in this case, like any other case, the easiest
way to begin to understand the crime and to find discrepancies, is to
put the events in time order. I recommend when writing about crime,
be it true crime or crime fiction, always put the sequences in
chronological order, do not jump around in time. It builds tension
naturally and makes it easier for the reader to follow and to
possibly solve the crime.
